


Once a Year

by astudyinfic



Series: A December of Ty and Zane [16]
Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Childhood Memories, Christmases over the years, Gen, Some Fluff, Some angst, pre-Ty/Zane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 16:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17026212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinfic/pseuds/astudyinfic
Summary: Christmas meant very different things to Ty and Zane growing up.  Some memories were good.  Some were bad.  All of them made them into the men they are today.Day 16:Childhood memories





	Once a Year

**Texas, Christmas 1970**

Four-year-old Zane Garrett snuck down to the tree in the early morning hours.  His father is already out tending the cattle with the hands and his mother was still asleep.  He knew gifts would have to wait until his dad was back in the house but he couldn’t resist just looking at them.  

They spread out from under the tree, all perfectly wrapped to match the theme his mother picked for the ranch that year.  While he couldn’t read just yet, he knew his name started with a Z and slowly picked out all the gifts that had a Z on the tag.  He shook some of them, moved others to the front so he could open them first. 

Finding the gift he’d made for his mother, he put that right in front so he could give it to her as soon as they started opening presents.  

When he heard his mother stirring upstairs, he ran back up to his room to pretend to be asleep.  He wasn’t supposed to be wandering the house unsupervised. A week prior he’d accidentally ruined one of the holiday displays in the public part of the house.  (He’d just wanted to see if the treats on it were real. They weren’t so he ended up getting in trouble for nothing.)

But today he was willing to risk punishment.  It was Christmas. 

Waiting quietly in his room for his mom to come to get him up, Zane stared up at the ceiling and smiled.  He couldn’t wait to see what was in all those packages down there. 

Hours later, when Harrison finished his chores, they gathered around the tree, his grandparents there as well.  Zane excitedly presented his mother with the gift he’d made, certain she would love it. “Oh, it’s...lovely,” she said, not nearly as happy as Zane hoped she would be.  “Thank you, Zane.” Beverly set the gift to the side and he never saw it again. 

He hid his disappointment as best he could while he opened his own gifts, eyes continually drifting back to the present his mother so coldly cast aside.  Silently, Zane vowed next year he’d do better. Next year, he’d get his mother something she really loved. 

 

**West Virginia, Christmas 1976**

Two-year-old Ty Grady had been up since four in the morning.  Worse, he woke his one-year-old brother as well. Mara had pulled them away from the presents twice already and Earl had to pull Ty out of the  _ tree _ once.  He was excitable enough on a good day.  Throw in presents and food and family, and it was a recipe for disaster.  They all thought they were ready for it.

They were not.

Finally, around six, his grandfather got up and sat guard by the tree so Mara and Evie could get breakfast started and Earl could take care of his work.  Chester had his hands full. When determined, Ty wouldn’t let much stand in his way. He attempted everything he could think of to sneak by his grandfather, and came close a couple times.  (Thinking back, Ty wonders if Chester might have let him think he was winning on occasion. He’s still not sure.) Deuce went for the direct attack and ended up sitting on his grandfather’s knee while Ty attempted to get to the gifts for the both of them.

Presents had to wait until after breakfast much to Ty’s dismay.  Ty bounced impatiently in his chair while all the adults chatted and Deuce babbled happily to anyone who would listen.  Ty decided he needed to teach his brother how important Christmas was by next year. Deuce didn’t seem too invested in getting to the gifts already.  When they finally gave him permission to go get the presents, he could hardly stand the excitement. 

Ty pulled gift after gift out from under the tree, handing them randomly to people as they did.  Deuce toddled after them, often stealing the present back when Ty delivered it. When Ty went back to get another, they passed the gift to the actual recipient, all of them smiling at his antics.  Once the presents were distributed, Ty tore into his with the reckless abandon of a child, excited about his new toys, throwing the clothes to the side for his mother to deal with later. 

Despite waking at such an early hour, Ty and Deuce ran rampant around the house and the yard for most of the day, both crashing hard on the couch just before dinner.  

The adults let them sleep.  That meal was the first peace any of them had all day.

 

**Texas, Christmas 1977**

Riding out with his father before dawn, eleven-year-old Zane urged his horse forward, racing the ranch hand who was with them.  Harrison’s laugh followed after him and Zane glanced back, grinning at his father. 

They were happier out here, both of them.  Even now, Zane knew he didn’t want to do this for a living.  The ranch was in his blood but not his heart, not the way it was for his father and the others who worked there.  But being out on the ranch, on horseback at the break of day? There was something magical about it. A freedom neither of them had at home. 

Work on the ranch didn’t stop just because it was a holiday and while Zane thought about the presents back at the house, about getting to see his baby sister celebrate the holiday for the first time, he had chores to do before that could happen.  They rode out to feed the cattle, checked the fences, took care of the horses in the barns. By the time they were done, the sun was high overhead and Zane was anxious for a shower and his presents. 

“Son,” Harrison called as they rode back towards the house.  “Wait up a second, will ya?”

Zane slowed his horse until his father caught up.  “I know we do presents inside with the family but, well, I wanted you to have this.”   Reaching into his saddlebag, his father handed over a small box. “I know your mother thinks your art is a waste of time but anything that makes you happy is okay in my book.  So, I want you to have this. She don’t need to know.” 

Inside the box were a collection of paints and brushes, as well as some pens and pencils.  “Thank you,” Zane breathed out. He’d long ago learned that what he wanted and what his mother expected were very different.  But his father accepted him as he was and he was happy about that. “Thanks,” he said again, smiling brightly. “I love them.”

“We love you, Zane.  Remember that, okay?” 

He nodded and thought that as long as he had his father on his side, he could handle anything his mother threw at him.

 

**West Virginia, Christmas 1981**

“Chester, you can’t do that!”  Ty heard his mother’s words but he couldn’t pay much attention.  Not when he had his new gift sitting in front of him, the very thing he’d wanted all year.  Leave it to his grandfather to listen to him and not his parents. His parents thought he was too young.  Of course, he wasn’t. He was seven-years-old. Practically an adult.

He set the BB gun in front of him and ran to his grandpa, throwing his arms around his neck.  “Thank you, Grandpa!” he grinned, hugging him tightly. “Will you show me how to shoot it this afternoon.”  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father trying to hold back a smile and knew that they would both take him out that afternoon so he could practice.  

Deuce stood over the gun, looking down at it with the same longing Ty had when he’d been asking for it for the past several months.  “Ma, it will be fine! Daddy and Grandpa won’t let anything happen. And maybe I could try?” Ty nodded, not wanting to leave Deuce out of the fun.

“Beaumont Tyler Grady, you are not old enough to have that gun.  We can give it back to you when you’re older but right now, I’m putting my foot down.”  His mother’s hands were on her hips and she glared at him with a look that would have cowed even the strongest of personalities.  It was a look Ty knew well, one she’d perfected in the years since he’d been born. 

He bowed his head.  “Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled, disappointed, to say the least.  But he knew better than to argue in this situation because she promised he would get it back.  If he argued, he’d never see it again. 

“Now Mara,” Earl said, coming to stand next to her.  “I had one of those when his age and I think Beaumont is more than old enough to have a BB gun.  Dad and I will be there the whole time.” Ty kept his head down, biting his lip to stop himself from smiling.  “It will be alright, dear.”

They all knew Mara wanted to argue but they also knew this was one battle she wasn’t going to win.  “Fine. But if you shoot out any of my windows, there will be hell to pay, you hear me!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Ty answered, grinning once more. 

He got to keep that gun for two whole years before shooting out his mother’s oven and losing it forever.

 

**Texas, Christmas 1984**

After several months in Austin, studying what he wanted and finally out from under his mother’s thumb, the thought of returning to the ranch made Zane physically ill.  He missed his sister and his dad, a lot of his friends but he enjoyed his freedom. It was like the freedom of riding with his dad when he was young but for the first time, it was entirely for him.  Eighteen-years-old and finally realizing what it was like to truly live, Zane didn’t want to go back to living by the rules of his mother’s home, even if it was only for a few days. 

But the dorms closed for the holidays and he had nowhere else to go, so he dutifully packed up his truck and drove home.  Maybe it would be better this time. Maybe his mother actually missed him and would simply be happy to see him home.

Pulling up to the ranch, all the feelings from his childhood came flooding back.  It was home. It would always be home. But it was also the place where nothing he ever did was quite good enough, the place where he didn’t live up to the expectations placed on him since birth.  At school, he could simply be Zane. Here at home, he was Zane Garrett, heir to the Carter-Garrett ranch. 

He didn’t see his mother for the first few days as she was far too busy with getting the house ready for the holidays to actually pay attention to the son that had been away for the last few months.  When they all sat down to dinner one night, she finally looked him over. “You look well, Zane. How are your studies?”

“They’re going well.  I’m really enjoying my statistics classes.  But I think I’m going to major in pre-law. So many things I can do with a degree like that.”  He cut his steak and kept his eyes down, already knowing what was coming.

His mother hummed as she gathered her words.  “Yes, like moving home. You’re needed here, Zane.  Get that degree and come back.”

Knowing it was one argument he wouldn’t win, Zane changed the subject.  “I met someone at school. I really like her. I thought maybe you could meet her the next time you visited.”

“Glad to hear it, son,” Harrison said with a smile.  “She make you happy?”

“Very much, sir.”

Beverly, of course, had more questions.  “What is she studying? She come from a good family?”  His mother didn’t even ask about her name. 

“She’s studying business.  Her father is a police officer in Dallas but her mother is heir to some oil family, I think.  We haven’t really discussed it.” Because asking those questions led to being asked them in return and Zane wasn’t ready to pull Becky into this part of his life.  Not when he wanted her to still like him. 

“That’s good.  Bring her home next time you come.  I’d like to meet her.” Zane sighed and went back to his dinner, knowing that was the best he was going to get.  “I need to see if she can fit in here before you get too serious.”

Zane bit back a growl of  _ Like hell you do _ and instead muttered, “Yes, mother.”  

It would be another two and a half years before Zane brought his then-fiancee home to meet his family.

 

**West Virginia, Christmas 1990**

It had been seven months since Ty turned sixteen and got his license.  Seven months of borrowing his father’s beat up truck whenever he needed to go into town.  Seven months of begging and pleading for a car. He didn’t have enough money saved up to buy his own and he hoped his parents might get him one.  Or help him so he could buy his own. 

Seven months later and he still didn’t have a car of his own.  It was getting ridiculous and Ty was going to have to go get a job because he would not go into the next school year without a car.  Far too embarrassing to even consider. 

Even as a teenager, Ty got far too excited about Christmas and was up at sunrise, curious what was waiting for him under the tree.  His parents long ago stopped getting up with him, knowing he wouldn’t actually open anything until they were all together. He just wanted to look and guess.  

Deuce eventually joined him and by the time they all gathered for breakfast, the two boys and moved almost everything around, trying to figure out what they were both getting.  “You two can just hold your horses and eat breakfast with the family,” Mara told them, whapping them both on the back of the head with a dish towel. “Those gifts will still be there when we are done.”

Dutifully, they ate their breakfast.  Ty might have accused them all of eating slow to annoy him but soon enough, they were all in the living room waiting for Ty to distribute gifts as he had every year since before he could even read.  Clothes and books, sports equipment and shiny things were all unwrapped and everyone was delighted by the end of the morning. 

“Oh, son, there’s one more here for you,” Earl said and Ty turned just in time to catch a small box being tossed across the room to him.  

He caught it in one hand and opened quickly, breath catching at what was inside.  “No shit!” 

“Tyler!  Language!” 

“Sorry, Ma.  But, is this real?”  Deuce looked over his shoulder and grinned.

“Go check it out for yourself.”  Earl nodded for the door and both boys took off, an excited shout reaching their ears as Ty laid his eyes on his new car.  

The Bronco was parked next to his father truck and his mother’s car, perfect in its imperfections.  His parents and grandparents were on the porch. “Now, you need to pay the insurance every month and take good care of her but she’s all yours,” Earl drawled and Ty pulled himself away from his car long enough to hug all of them.  

“I promise.  I’ll take great care of her.”

Twenty years later, she was still running just as well as the day he got her.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on [tumblr](http://astudyinfic.tumblr.com), [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/astudyinfic) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/astudyinfic)
> 
> Also, we made a [Cut & Run discord channel](https://discord.gg/KFfErkb) if anyone is interested in joining and yelling at us about the books we all love.


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